top 10 albums

Gregory Adams
Lucas Aykroyd
Jenny Charlesworth
Deena Cox
Tara Henley
John Lucas
Adrian Mack
Tony Montague
Steve Newton
Martin Turenne
Mike Usinger
Alexander Varty

If you don't like how this '08 hard-rock and metal list came out, hey, I'll just blame it on my latest earworm song. Bizarrely, it's Lee Greenwood's 1984 country jingo-fest "God Bless the USA", to which I was subjected on the Dolly Steamboat cruise in Arizona last month.

Brother Firetribe Heart Full of Fire
Denting the image of Finns as silent, suicidal types, this exquisitely crafted gem of happy '80s AOR hummability comes courtesy of Nightwish guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. The sequel to 2006's False Metal surpasses 95 percent of Bon Jovi's post-1988 output.

Leverage Blind Fire
Vocalist Pekka Ansio Heino also fronts Brother Firetribe, but with this virtuosic, Rainbow-esque sextet, his mighty tenor carries more raw emotion. Killer tracks include the urgent gangster-comes-of-age tale "King of the Night" and the tragic power ballad "Sentenced".

Amon Amarth Twilight of the Thunder God
Embracing stirringly melodic riffage that sometimes verges on power metal, the Viking-obsessed death-metal Swedes prove there's plenty of life left in ol' Thor. They are indeed the "Guardians of Asgaard".

Asia Phoenix
With all due respect to Steve Carell, you needn't be a 40-year-old virgin to hail this pomp-rock reunion. Backed by the original 1982 lineup of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, and drummer Carl Palmer, singer John Wetton impressively voices his post-heart-surgery love of life on reflective, super-orchestrated anthems like "Never Again".

Opeth Watershed
Savvily planting horns and strings amid flurries of crushing bombast, Opeth songsmith Mikael Akerfeldt proves again on this 75-minute prog-death masterpiece that his imagination is limitless.

Airbourne Runnin' Wild
So you couldn't get AC/DC tickets? Sample this platter instead—the energy outpaces Acca Dacca's latest, Black Ice. Launching its assault on North America, the youthful Melbourne-based foursome seizes the raunchy-blues-rock mantle and sets it on fire with rave-ups like "Diamond in the Rough".

Kiuas The New Dark Age
Three albums in, this multifaceted, hyper-energized metal band is hotter than the sauna heater from which its name comes. The apocalyptic six-string thrashing, histrionic keyboards, and heroic chorus on "Of Sacrifice, Loss and Reward" deservedly made it a Finnish chart-topper.

Demians Empire
Introspective lyrics, haunting guitar passages, and brilliantly yearning vocals by French one-man show Nicolas Chapel. A must for Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree fans.

Into Eternity The Incurable Tragedy
It's one of 2008's most depressing records: lyrically, it's about losing multiple family members to cancer. But relentless technical execution (love those 9/8 time signatures!) and moments of piano-soothed emotion make this a career-definer for the Regina-based prog-death metallers.

Gojira The Way of All Flesh
Colder and darker than 2006's From Mars to Venus, The Way of All Flesh is also more sonically impressive with its devastating, echoing choruses and creative polyrhythms. An intelligent tour de force from France's top death-metal export.